We’re springing into the busy season this week with an extensive calendar of all the fun awaiting you in April and May.

In the next two months, you’ll see the grand finales of the performing arts groups’ seasons, some big shows from national touring acts and the slow build into summer with the return of some favorite traditions.

Here’s a little of what I’m most looking forward to:

o Season finales: “Hello, Dolly!” wraps up Civic Amarillo’s Broadway Spotlight Series on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed in short order by season enders from Amarillo Opera (“The Threepenny Opera” on April 5 and 6), West Texas A&M University (“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” opening April 10), Lone Star Ballet (“Romeo & Juliet” on April 11 and 12), Chamber Music Amarillo (Bach, Beer & Barbecue on April 12), Amarillo Symphony (“Lady Sings the Blues” on April 25 and 26), Amarillo Little Theatre (“Peter Pan,” opening May 1) and TheatreAC (“Little Women,” opening May 2).

o Hot fun in the summer time: Maybe it’s just me, but Homer’s Backyard Ball always signals the arrival of summer. This year’s ball is set for May 17 with headliner Robert Earl Keen, plus The Josh Abbott Band, Kevin Fowler (playing his first Homer’s) and more. Other summer fun getting a start in May includes the Amarillo Sox, opening its season May 15, and “Texas,” opening its 49th season May 31 after a special, free Memorial Day show on May 26.

Last week, I had the great pleasure of interviewing star Sally Struthers on the phone to preview the Tuesday and Wednesday stagings in the Amarillo Civic Center Complex Auditorium.

Well, I say it was an interview, but it really felt more like a gabfest — mostly on her end, and wonderfully so.

Struthers seemed especially delighted when I mentioned her work on the late, lamented “Gilmore Girls,” where she recurred as the girls’ neighbor, Babette.

“‘Gilmore Girls’ was a blast,” Struthers said. “They say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but it did for me. I worked with some of the best writers in TV on a show so clever as ‘All in the Family,’ and people said I would never have that happen again.”

We also talked about the immense fame that struck when “All in the Family” became such a sensation after its 1971 debut.

“Anonymity is a very precious thing, and you lose it when you’re on something as precious as ‘All in the Family,’” she said. “For the rest of my life, I’ll be stared at by people who either know me or think they recognize me.”

Would she take it back, I wondered?

“I’d have to really ponder that one for a while,” she said. “From ‘All in the Family,’ all these wonderful things happened, like our production of ‘Dolly.’

“I just wish there were a way to act in wonderful film and television and stage roles without being recognized,” she said. “I can’t wear a costume all day. I don’t look good in a moustache.”